The Ministry is migrating nzmaths content to Tāhurangi.
Relevant and up-to-date teaching resources are being moved to Tāhūrangi (tahurangi.education.govt.nz).
When all identified resources have been successfully moved, this website will close. We expect this to be in June 2024.
e-ako maths, e-ako Pāngarau, and e-ako PLD 360 will continue to be available.
For more information visit https://tahurangi.education.govt.nz/updates-to-nzmaths
A measure of spread for a distribution of a numerical variable that is calculated as the difference between the largest and smallest values in the distribution.
The range is less useful than other measures of spread because it is strongly influenced by the presence of just one unusually large or small value; hence the range conveys only one aspect of the spread of the distribution. It is recommended that a graph of the distribution is used to check the appropriateness of the range as a measure of spread and to emphasise its meaning as a feature of the distribution.
Example
The maximum temperatures, in degrees Celsius (°C), in Rolleston for the first 10 days in November 2008 were: 18.6, 19.9, 20.6, 19.4, 17.8, 18.1, 17.8, 18.7, 19.6, 18.8
The largest value is 20.6°C and the smallest is 17.8°C.
The range of the maximum temperatures over these 10 days is 20.6°C – 17.8°C = 2.8°C
The data and the range are displayed on the dot plot below.
See: measure of spread
Curriculum achievement objectives references
Statistical investigation: Levels (5), (6), (7), (8)
